2291 booked for not wearing seat belt in 2 weeks

A total of 2291 drivers were booked for not wearing a seat belt during a two week campaign from March 4 to 17, Phileleftheros reported on Monday.

It said that such high numbers give cause for concern as failure to wear a seat belt is one of the main factors in road fatalities.

Two out of three of the 23 drivers or passengers killed on the island’s roads last year were not wearing a seat belt. At least some may have survived had they been wearing their seat , as the damage to their vehicles did not justify loss of life, traffic police believe, the paper added.

Six people have been killed on the roads so far this year, four fewer than in the same period last year. Three of this year’s road fatalities were bikers.

Police today launched a new campaign targeting driving under the influence or alcohol and/or drugs.

They have also started checking whether drivers have renewed their road tax after the deadline of March 11.